Oregon House committee questions bicycle stop bill

SALEM --Well, why the heck shouldn't bicyclists stop at all stop signs? Wouldn't this bill confuse motorists and pedestrians? And wouldn't we be setting a bad safety first example for kids if we allow this?

Those were some of the questions skeptical lawmakers threw at advocates of House Bill 2690 at a committee hearing today.

The proposal embodies what's popularly known in bike circles as the "Idaho Stop." Under the bill, bicyclists could approach a stop sign or flashing red signal -- but not a stoplight -- slowly, and cross or turn without actually stopping if no one else is in the intersection. They still would have to yield.

Portland Democratic Rep. Jules Bailey, one of the chief backers of the bill, described it as a way to promote bicycling -- and therefore, the local economy, the environment, and good public health, etc.

He also owned up that it's pretty darn hard to stop and start when he's riding to downtown Portland in the rain, loaded with a laptop, work binders and saddlebags.

"It's a commute that I enjoy," Bailey said, "but it's not always the easiest thing to do."

Rep. Jim Weidner, R-Yamhill, said he doesn't like stopping at rural stop signs when there's no one around. "But I do it because it's the law," he said. "I'm just worried about . . . what kind of precedent we're setting for kids."

Rep. Deborah Boone, D-Cannon Beach, wanted to know if the Bicycle Transportation Alliance , who requested the bill, had approached the city of Portland about carving out this exception on city roads because "it seems like this is a city issue."

Karl Rohde, spokesman for the bike group, said they had not, because they didn't want cyclists confused by different rules in different cities. They wanted a statewide law, like Idaho.

To that, Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, whose district borders Idaho, said: I think the reason they have that law is because they have only two bicyclists in the entire state.

Anyway, now it's up to sponsors to shore up enough votes to move the bill out of the House Transportation Committee.